NHL: Flyers confident heading into Pittsburgh

VOORHEES, N.J. — After three consecutive days of impressive performances at the Skate Zone, the Flyers can confidently conclude that they’re good enough to beat themselves.

“We wanted to make sure we know what our plan is and how we want to approach games,” Claude Giroux said after another passionate, intense and proud Philadelphia practice ... on ice. “There were a lot of good practices ... intense and a lot of competing. That’s what we needed to focus on.”

OK, fine.Now comes the much harder part.

The Flyers are in Pittsburgh to commence a stretch run of what likely will be their last 18 games of the season over the next 35 days. To encourage them for tonight’s game with the Penguins, the Flyers can point to the fact that they’ve won six of the seven regular season games they’ve played at Consol Energy Center since it opened for the 2010-11 season. They also won two of three playoff games last spring there.

As for slightly less encouraging news, the Penguins will be going for their 12th consecutive victory, which would be the longest winning streak of any team this season. Not even the Blackhawks were able to manage that during their magical first half.

Along the way, the Penguins (24-8-0) have streaked to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. The Flyers? Well, they still have the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning separating them from the conference cellar.

But hey, what’s 11 Pittsburgh wins a row and a conference standing of five points shy of a playoff spot to worry about when you’ve spent three straight days conquering your inner fears in South Jersey?

“I think it was good,” Max Talbot said of how the Flyers spent a five-day break that began with two days of self-reflection after another loss to an otherwise imploding Lightning team. “After the last game in Tampa Bay, you can look at it and say we can regroup, talk about what we need to address. And then it was a really good week of competition (at practice). We worked hard ... now it’s the last stretch for us.

“We’re going to focus on us,” Talbot added. “They’re obviously playing well, they won their last 11, I think. But every time you can go out there and kind of mess that up, it can be extra motivation. But I don’t think we need that. We’re fighting for points. It’s about us right now.”

“Anytime we play Pittsburgh it’s easy to get up and go play,” Giroux said. “We’re aware that they’re having a good season. We have to make sure we focus on what we have to do. Just beating Pittsburgh, I think that’s good enough motivation. They’re playing well right now so we have to make sure we’re dialed in and ready to go.”

Though the Flyers had fallen to 12th place in the conference the last we saw them playing at the Bay, they were five points out of the eighth and final playoff position. That’s where they still are, while a host of other teams have caught up or even passed them in games played. So their chances of making the playoffs are actually a little better now.

“They’re better? Really? By not playing?” Danny Briere said. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

“You look at the standings, we’re five points away. We could be in a worse position,” Talbot noted. “I think five points away is something we can look at and be prepared (to overcome).”

Of course, getting a headstart on that mission is of vital importance. Too bad it starts Sunday against the hottest team in the league. Or is that bad?

“If there’s one team that’s out there that can beat them,” Jake Voracek said of the Penguins, “it’s us.”

•••NOTES: Flyers’ Paul Holmgren was in his native land of Minnesota Saturday to scout the Wild-Sharks game and Western Collegiate Hockey Association tourney. ... Over the last 24 games between the Flyers and Penguins, the road team has won 18 times. ... So, it’s game 31 of the season, and it’s start No. 29 for goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. At least it comes after a break, though he notes, “I had energy before, too. It’s nice we had a break. But it’s not going to be easy again. I don’t have a crystal ball to predict anything, you know?”